The mayors of Uhrichsville and Dennison — as well as Santa Claus — were on hand Saturday for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for a recently completed pedestrian bridge linking the two communities.

The bridge over Little Stillwater Creek, near Dennison's McCluskey Park, is part of the 1.1-mile Panhandle Passage Trail hiking and biking trail through Uhrichsville and Dennison.

"It goes to show that when we pull together, we can make things happen," Dennison Councilman Greg DiDonato said during the ceremony.

The mayors and Santa Claus were assisted in cutting the ribbon by past and present council members from the two communities, along with Tuscarawas County Commissioners Chris Abbuhl and Belle Everett.

The pedestrian bridge was the second one dedicated in Tuscarawas County last week.

On Thursday, the Towpath Trail Aqueduct Bridge over the Tuscarawas River between Stark and Tuscarawas counties was officially opened.

Dennison Mayor Tim Still thanked those who provided funding for the project, which cost more than $500,000 to complete. Grant dollars came from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Mid-Eastern Government Association, as well as numerous local donors.

He also thanked DiDonato "for being the push behind it."

In his remarks, Uhrichsville Mayor Terry Culbertson made note of a piece of good news for the community. The East Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council of Canton and Beaver Excavating Co. of Canton have agreed to clean up Gorley Bottoms in Uhrichsville — near the new bridge — at no charge.

"We're happy with that because it will do nothing but enhance this trail," Culbertson said.

He learned of their commitment about three weeks ago during a dinner meeting with officials from the two organizations.

The city of Uhrichsville has been working for five years trying to construct ball fields at Gorley Bottoms, and "it's going to be a reality now," he said.

Also attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony was Gerard M. Neugebauer, project manager for Environmental Design Group of Akron, which designed and oversaw the project.

The project was in the design phase for two years. "Getting the funding was the big hold-up," he explained.

The company has designed numerous trails for communities in Ohio, including ones in Niles and Talmadge this year, said Dennis Mersky, a landscape architect for Environmental Design Group.

Next year, the company will be designing trails at Atwood Lake, he added.